The present invention relates to an improved method for maintaining breed registries and providing pedigree information to purchasers of animals and encouraging purchasers to register the purchased animals with the breed registry.
Breed registries have been established to maintain the purity of breeds and to maintain genealogical information on breeds to permit documentation of the lineage of an animal. Purchasing offspring of registered sires and dams assures the purchaser of the genetic purity of the animal. The registration process also adds value for breeders who can command higher prices for purebred animals from registered sires and dams. The method utilized by the American Kennel Club ("AKC") to maintain its registry and encourage registration of dogs is somewhat typical of practices utilized by other breed registries.
The AKC registration process is initiated by the breeders. For a dog to be entitled to registration, it must be the offspring of a registered sire and dam of the same breed. After a litter of puppies is born, the breeder (the owner or lessee of the dam) completes and returns a litter application to the AKC. In the litter application, the breeder identifies the breed, the number of puppies in the litter, the number of males and the number of females in the litter, the registered name and registration number of the sire and dam, and identifying information for the owner or lessee of the sire or dam. Within several weeks, the AKC issues registration applications to the breeder. The registration application provides the name and registration number for the sire and dam and the name of the breeder and instructions for completing and submitting the registration application to the AKC to register the puppy.
When the breeder sells a puppy, the breeder fills in the sex and color of the puppy and the name of the purchaser on the application and the breeder signs the registration application. If the initial purchaser wants to register the puppy, the purchaser fills in a name for the puppy and signs and submits to the AKC the registration application form with the registration fee. Intermediaries, such as brokers or distributors, typically do not want to name or register the puppy prior to its subsequent transfer. If the initial purchaser is an intermediary, the intermediary does not name the puppy or sign or submit the registration application. Upon subsequent sale of the puppy by the intermediary, the intermediary completes a supplemental transfer statement, including identifying information regarding the puppy and the name of the new owner or purchaser. The intermediary signs the supplemental transfer statement and attaches it to the registration application. A supplemental transfer statement is completed and attached to the registration application each time the puppy is transferred by an intermediary.
A purchaser purchasing from an intermediary who wishes to register the puppy signs the supplemental transfer statement listing the purchaser as the owner and submits the registration application and each of the supplemental transfer statements to the AKC with the required fee. An additional fee is charged for each supplemental transfer.
Although the registration application can generally be relied upon to verify that the puppy or animal being purchased is of the breed specified, the registration application does not provide enough information to determine if the puppy is the product of inbreeding. Breeders who are breeding show or competition stock will sometimes inbreed their animals in an effort to emphasize certain traits of the parents and produce champion caliber offspring. Although such inbreeding often does produce champion quality offspring, just as often, inbreeding emphasizes undesirable traits or health defects. In the pet industry, most pet purchasers are simply trying to purchase pets for companionship and not as show animals. Such companion pets generally are not sought for their show qualities, but for their temperament and health.
If the end purchaser purchases the pet directly from a breeder, the purchaser could ask to see or obtain copies of the pedigrees of the sire and dam from the breeder to verify that the animal they are purchasing is not the result of inbreeding. However, most breeders typically do not have a printed copy of the pedigree for the sire and dam and it typically takes four to six weeks to obtain the pedigrees on the sire and dam from AKC and the current charge to obtain pedigrees from the AKC is currently approximately $38 for each animal. Because of the time and cost of obtaining pedigrees, many breeders do not want to bother with obtaining pedigrees on their sires and dams.
Many pet owners purchase their pets through pet stores or other intermediaries. The AKC registration application, which is often the only documentation for the dog provided to the purchaser by an intermediary, simply provides the registration number and name for the sire and dam as identifying information for the dog. To obtain more extensive pedigree information on the dog, the purchaser must pay an additional fee with the registration application or pay a pedigree researcher to do the genealogical research. As noted previously, obtaining a pedigree through AKC typically takes four to six weeks, and well after any purchasing decisions as to the dog would be made.
Another problem associated with the procedure utilized by the AKC is the time delay which often occurs between transfer of the puppy and the registration application. In particular, it typically takes three weeks if not longer for the AKC to provide a breeder registration applications in response to filing of a litter application. If the puppies are sold prior to receipt of the registration applications, which happens often, the paperwork typically does not catch up to the puppy in the distribution channel and the ultimate purchaser may not receive the registration application for several weeks after the purchase. In addition, even if a broker receives the registration application prior to their subsequent transfer of the animal, they typically do not transfer the registration application to the retailer until they receive payment for the animals purchased which may take several weeks, such that the registration applications typically do not reach the end purchaser for several weeks after their purchase. By then the novelty of purchasing a purebred animal may have worn off, and the purchaser of a pet for companionship as opposed to show purposes is unlikely to complete and return the registration application.